So Japan is a pretty interesting place

Japan has always been on my list of places I needed to visit since, for one, I love ramen and gyoza, and two, everyone that goes to Japan says it's such a unique country. I was lucky enough to have Kyoto as a destination on Remote Year. During my stay in Japan, I got to hit 5 different cities: Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Hakone. They all offered different views of Japan and I walked away with new knowledge and appreciation for the Land of the Rising Sun, though to be fair, I didn't see a lot of sun during our stay. One takeaway I was unaware of is the Japanese are not really religious. There's a joke about the Japanese that they're born Shinto, live Atheist, and die Buddhist. The two main religions are Buddhism and Shinto but overall the Japanese are not very actively religious. That being said, there are a ton of shrines and torii gates throughout Japan and they're all beautiful and breathtaking. Kyoto definitely felt like the most historical city I visited but each city had its own tributes to the past. While Japan is generally considered modern and technologically advanced, I found that designation more appropriate to Tokyo than the rest of the cities I visited, although I was surprised with Japan's Wi-Fi as it wasn't as good as I would figure it to be given the country's reputation. Kyoto was more down to earth and felt more traditional while Osaka felt more industrial. Hakone felt sort of like the Lake Tahoe of Japan while Hiroshima felt ironically the most peaceful.

Our 5 weeks in Japan were filled with scattered showers, late late nights (working as a remote in Japan on U.S. hours is tough), shrines, tea, animal cafés, and good food. I had ramen about every other day since I'm a self diagnosed ramen addict, I had tons of gyoza, I had sushi though surprisingly not that much, and of course I had several helpings of Kobe beef. I had friends come visit me for the first time which was a new and interesting experience while on Remote Year. I rented a bike to get around town which was fun except when I had to ride home in the rain. Fun fact about riding a bike in Japan? You don't have to worry about it getting stolen. Japan is one of the safest countries in the world to visit. The level of safety is remarkable. As our city manager explained to us, he left his wallet in a park for 24-48 hours once and when he returned to retrieve it, not only was it still there with all his money and credit cards but someone had posted a post-it note on it with the amount of cash that was in his wallet so he'd know if any was missing. The Japanese are really honorable people! To top it all off, they have heated toilets! (Yes, that's a thing and now how am I supposed to ever go back to just regular toilets?).

I found GODZILLA

Kyoto, my home for one of Remote Year's extended 5 week cities, was gorgeous. The Fushimi-Inari Shrine is a must. I did a traditional tea ceremony. The district of Gion was rad with people dressing up like samurais and geishas let alone real actual geishas walking around. I'm a big Lost in Translation fan and it was cool to be able to see some of the sites both in Tokyo and Kyoto where they filmed. I watched the sunset from the Kyoto Tower which has great 360 degree views of the city. I got to experience two TeamLabs digital arts exhibits, one in Kyoto where they took over a park and made it into a forest like Wonderland, and one of the two actual exhibits they have in Tokyo (Borderless and Planets). It was one of the highlights of Japan for me as the exhibits and attractions were so neat. I can't really describe it but it's a definite must on my list for any visitors that are in Tokyo. Of course, I did the famed Robot Restaurant which is kind of tacky and not necessarily something I would say you have to do but it is unique and feels very Japanese. I missed out on staying at the Godzilla Hotel but I did find the big guy in Tokyo.

There was so much to explore in Japan. The high speed trains and subway systems are no joke and although the system is a bit overwhelming the trains are ridiculously efficient. They are almost always on time to the minute and they're easily the quickest way to travel around the country.

Overall, I had a blast in Kyoto and the other cities of Japan. It is very clean and very safe. You can get water and other beverages at nearly every street corner out of vending machines. A lot of restaurants have a vending machine like operating system where you order and pay from a vending machine then give your ticket to a human that will eventually deliver your items. There's sake and Japanese whiskey galore and you can't go to Japan and not have any of these things: tea, whiskey, Japanese beer, sake, sushi, ramen, and Kobe beef. I didn't actually have any udon while I was in Japan shockingly and I disappointingly didn't have any Japanese curry either but again, as a ramen addict, I had more than my fair share of it. The Japanese do still feel like a very isolated culture. Despite areas of Japan being massive tourist spots, the Japanese people still speak mainly Japanese and English speaking Japanese are hard to find. It can make transportation difficult if you're ordering Ubers or taxis. One thing to note regarding taxis and Ubers... never open the door yourself. The driver is supposed to open and close the doors for you for liability reasons. You've been warned!

Be prepared to keep track of your change as well as valuable Japanese Yen can be given back to you in the form of coins. They add up, trust me.

Overall, I'd give Japan a solid 3 on the -5 to 5 scale. While I don't think I'd live there for an extended period due to the relative priciness of it compared to the other countries we've been to, I would definitely go back to visit. I had always wanted to see Tokyo but Tokyo wound up being my least favorite city of the ones I explored. I definitely recommend going to check it out but I would make Kyoto and Hiroshima two necessary stops and, if you have time, Hakone for its natural beauty. Osaka was fun to party in and I did catch a Japanese baseball game there (the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers) which was an awesome experience and something I got to cross off my bucketlist and something you should absolutely 100% go see if you're there during the season. In fact, I think Major League Baseball should adopt some of the Japanese baseball traditions like having each batter have their own crowd chant and the 7th inning stretch (at least for the Hanshin Tigers) was wild. Go see a game. I also checked out the Osaka aquarium (whale sharks can be found here which actually made me feel sad but they were still awe-inspiring). And of course, when in Japan, you MUST karaoke.

Here are my recs:

Ramen: In Kyoto, they had an Ippudo and although I think it is the same company/brand as the U.S. ones, this one was better. Get the gyoza for sure and I loved the spicy ramen (the Karaka ramen) but their spice is no joke! I like spicy stuff and I stuck with the #2 level spice which is what they call 3 spicy. If you order a #3 it's 8 spicy and that was good but borderline too spicy even for me. I can't imagine ordering a #4 or #5 spice level. I ate there several times during my Kyoto stay and it was my 2nd favorite ramen of all time. Go there if you like ramen.

There also was Ichiran ramen which I had a lot and was a fan favorite of Polaris's. We called it "Peepshow ramen" because the servers are hidden behind a curtain. Here, you order your general order from a vending machine looking thing then are eventually sat (there can be long waits sometimes). You can further customize your order once you are seated. I loved the spicy ramen here as well. Here, they offered spice levels from 0-10. I typically did a 4 or 5 spice level which was plenty spicy enough for me. My only ding on Ichiran is that they do not have gyoza but the ramen is legitimately fantastic and was my 2nd favorite behind Ippudo in Kyoto.

However, in Tokyo, I think I had the best ramen I've ever had in my life at a spot called Tatsunoya that we randomly stumbled upon. They're known for their tsukemen ramen but I just had their regular spicy ramen and it was amazing. It's sheer luck we even wound up at this spot. I had some Michelin rated ramen spots I had wanted to try, specifically Nakiryu (known for it's Tan Tan Men which is one of my favorite types of ramen), Tsuta (the first ever Michelin rated ramen parlor and which now has a location in my native San Francisco), and Konjiki Hototogisu (recommended by our Japanese city manager) but I didn't make it to any of them unfortunately. That being said, finding Tatsunoya instead by accident was a blessing in disguise. It is now the best ramen I've had and I wish I could have had it again just to confirm that verdict. Like Ichiran, you order from a vending machine and then give your order to the server. I ate loads of other ramens as well but those were the ones that stuck out.

Ippudo Ramen in Kyoto (Tried and true and now my 2nd favorite ramen)

Tatsunoya Ramen in Tokyo (new favorite ramen EVER)

Ichiran Ramen in Kyoto (3rd favorite)

Sushi: I am totally guilty of not having much sushi in Japan. There are SO many spots that have amazing fresh sushi. I unfortunately don't have specific recs. I went to the fish markets in Kyoto and Tokyo (the Tokyo one is more well known) and we had sushi around those markets and the sushi was great but I can't remember the specific names. We also had an amazing epic sushi dinner in Tokyo at a seemingly very posh sushi spot that blew my mind but I didn't get the name as we were brought there by a local.

Just some fresh tuna from the fish market in Tokyo

Beef: Honesty, I don't even know how I found the best steakhouse experience I had in Japan. The name of the place is "Steakhouse Jiro" and the only way you can find it really is through Google Maps. From what I can tell they do not have a website and even the review aggregator sites don't have a lot of info for this restaurant. It was an incredible experience. First of all, the food was really good. I picked this steakhouse based on reviews (they have really good reviews). But little did I know what I was getting into here. The experience wasn't even about the food, which again, was delicious. The chef is an old man who most likely used to be (and still is) an entertainer of sorts. Unexpectedly during our dinner, he began doing karaoke in his own restaurant with a variety of costumers, some not for the faint of heart (re: inappropriate). However, I don't think I've ever had a better time at a restaurant. If you eve find your self in the Gion district of Kyoto, seek out Steakhouse Jiro and go. I can't even prep you for the experience, it's just a blast. Aside from Steakhouse Jiro, I had an amazing teppanyaki steak meal at a place in Hiroshima called Mimitei. It wasn't cheap but it was really good and arguably the best steak I had in Japan. They cook it right in front of you and it's delectable. If you ever find yourself in Hiroshima (highly recommended), I suggest you seek out this restaurant and get your steak on.

The chef and my friend's baby at Jiro!

Chef singing for us in costume

Not to be outdone, the garlic chips and steak itself

Steak from Mouriya, also in Gion

Gyoza: I just have to give a shout out to Tiger Gyoza. There aren't many restaurants dedicated to gyoza but Tiger Gyoza is one of them. Okay, they have a lot of other things on the menu that are also ridiculously good but you can't go wrong by going here and just ordering all the different types of gyoza. I ate here at least twice, I think three times, and maybe even more. It was really really good. Plus, come on, it combines two of my favorite things: Tigers and Gyoza. Go here.

We spent 5 fun filled weeks in Japan and I would absolutely go back. It was some of the best food we had during the trip in my opinion (biased as a ramen lover) and it was just so safe. Below are a sample of my photos. This blog was one of the more difficult to write because I just kept remembering things that were awesome I wanted to include. Even so, I barely scratched the surface. You have to go to Japan to truly experience it. And I highly recommend Kyoto over Tokyo to be your headquarters.

Here are some of my many pics: